SMOKERS... LETS KICK the HABIT!!

Originally Posted by Kimpooh

I too have smoked since I was 12!! I try to quit several times a year and also have tried everything but e-cigarette. That's up next! Cancer, in all it's ugly forms, has taken from me many friends and it runs heavily in my family, including myself (skin cancer twice) so I really am quite the idiot for smoking. Problem is, while everyone is really good at lecturing me that I should quit, the same people get super irritated at me when the bitchiness & mood swings of withdrawal hits!! So I have a distinct lack of support... I had quite the little drug habit years ago but I can honestly say quitting doing dope was easier than stopping smoking!!!
Any tips, pointers, suggestions for success would be greatly appreciated!!

Originally Posted by deathbypoem

Sigh. I must admit that I have been smoking since I was 15. It's been a very long battle, and not one that I easily put down. However, I have attempted quitting 3 or 4 times. The longest I ever quit was 8 months. I made a huge mistake for picking the habit back up. The saying that nicotine is addictive, couldn't be further from the truth. I'm ready to quit for good. (yeah, said that before too) Im just tired of it. And ready to move on in life, better my health over all and not have that constant need for nicotine. Now, I realize different things work for different people. Obviously what I tried didn't work long enough, and the willpower didn't last either. Being strong and ending this addiction isn't easy by a long shot. Hoping that I will find some common ground and put that shit to the dirt once and for all. Wishing everyone a super great success in keeping themselves clean and nicotine free! It's a struggle. For sure.

It's tough, can't lie about that, but a hard job is somehow more satisfying in the end.
It takes more than just will-power. It requires an inner job. Work on changing your mind set, on breaking physical and mental habits.

35yr smoker. Just over 4yrs smoking quit.

On this thread you'll find like minded souls who'll be endless supportive as long as you put the effort in.

I suggest you start before you actually quit. Consult with your GP about any NRT or pharmaceutical help you can get. I chose the Chantix route. There are warnings about certain folks taking Chantix and I'm one of those folks but I took the risk after discussion with my respiratory nurse and the GP.
It worked for me...I wanted it to work and worked hard at making it work.

I chose to be positive about quitting even when I didn't want to be and refused to listen to the little addict devil on my shoulder telling me "It'll be too hard" "folks will hate me when I get moody" "I don't have willpower" "what will I do with my hands" "I'll put on weight". If you believe that voice you're setting yourself up for failure before you've even started. Don't do it!

Major aspect for me was breaking the hand to mouth action and one I worked really hard on. I really didn't want to replace cigs with food. I'm glad that I didn't have ecigs available to me 4 and half years ago. I think it would have kept me a slave to having to put something in my lungs to make me feel 'better' or 'different' in some way. If stuff doesn't make us feel better in some way why would we do it? The mindset/motivation and action of using of an ecig is the same as smoking a cig even if the chemicals aren't the same. That's just my opinion.

Fear worked wonderfully for me, having just survived the most serious chest infection I'd had to date, my then gf was watching me asphyxiate in front of her. I strongly suggest you don't allow yourself to get to the imminently life threatening stage as I did.

Learning to deal with the moodies and the swings is a trial and error affair. I spent a lot of time walking or cycling on my own. Or washing dishes. Vacuuming the stairs. You get my drift. Keep busy, do positive things for yourself. Keeping busy also helps mitigate against the inevitable weight gain. Even wee, skinny me gained 20-25lbs. 4yrs later I'd lost it all. My housemate also lost all her smoking weight gain around 4yrs too. You have a choices in limiting the gain.

Make yourself accountable, post here or some other place. A daily check in with folks who are also giving up, or have done and are willing to be part of the cheerleading team really makes you think about caving and picking up the next ciggie. Remember it's the first one that does the damage...one is too many and a thousand never enough.
Ask your friends to be as supportive as they can find it in their hearts to be...even when you're being irritable and/or irritating. I got lucky, everyone was really supportive for me, despite times of deep irritability and being deeply irritating.
Make it your mission to break the habitual actions. Make yourself aware of your danger times when you might crave a cig more than at other times. Be prepared for hard cravings to creep up on you by surprise.
I had one of those plastic inhalator things...generally without the nicotine cartridge for a few weeks at the start just for the worst cravings, empty hands and something to chew on times.

You'll be so proud of yourselves when you succeed.
Your mission, should you accept it, is to start your personal positive self talk this week.
My quit self talk was based around knowing that I was powerless over nicotine when I actively had it. I only had any power over it when I wasn't having it. I knew it would mean being kind to myself and not giving myself a hard time because I'd been snippy with someone or overreacted in some situation or other. You get the idea. Relentlessly positive.

There's never a good or right time to quit. Why not set yourself a date in a month and start doing the mental prep now? Double dare ya!

Originally Posted by Redsunflower

I'm now approaching 7 months nicotine free.
I'm so delighted with myself I could happy dance all over the place.
Maybe this will do...



Congrats to everyone else still going strong. We are the greatest.

Freakin' awesome you!

Might I might make so bold as to say...a day at a time...

I told ya so!